


The dog and the fox

by violentincest



Category: Captive Prince - C. S. Pacat
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-22
Updated: 2019-12-22
Packaged: 2021-02-26 22:48:21
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 17,681
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21896785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/violentincest/pseuds/violentincest
Summary: For the 2019 Capri Reverse Bang based off of Dad's artwork.Laurent and Damen trained together as kids. One wanting to become a pirate and get revenge, the other wanting to become a naval officer. Circumstances split them apart, and the years passed without seeing each other again. When Laurent boards Damen's ship, he realizes that to get what he wants, he needs to work with the Navy, men who would rather see him hung.(Read the warning in the Author's Note before reading)
Relationships: Damen/Laurent (Captive Prince)
Comments: 14
Kudos: 25
Collections: Captive Prince Reverse Bang 2019





	1. Art by Dad (Not an actual chapter)

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! Here is my Captive Prince Reverse Bang fic (a bit earlier than normal due to time zones).
> 
> WARNING: Read at your own risk. I chose not to use Archive Warnings because I don't want to spoil the plot or give anything away. The story is not a happy one, as the lives of pirates, historically, usually ended tragically. 
> 
> If you're looking for a happy ending DO.NOT.READ.ON.
> 
> I'm giving you fair warning so that you can turn away now.
> 
> If you do decide to continue on because you love angst and hurting yourself, then please leave me some kudos or comments if you liked it. I'd love to hear what you think! And if you chose to read, but don't like angst and leave a comment complaining about the unhappy ending, I will just say I told you so.
> 
> Thank you to Kir aka Aaymeirah on A03 for betaing it. You were a lovely lovely help, and go check out their work too.
> 
> Finally, thank you to Dad, for the beautiful piece of art, the inspiration, and allowing me to make the story as angsty as I wanted. They don't have an AO3, BUT if you love pirates they have an ongoing Original Pirate comic that is absolutely amazing. Please check it out. It's called 'Come Hell or High Water' and you can find it at chohwcomic.tumblr.com, and @chohwcomic on twitter!
> 
> Enjoy!


	2. The dog and the fox

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Read at your own risk. I chose not to use Archive Warnings because I don't want to spoil the plot or give anything away. The story is not a happy one, as the lives of pirates, historically, usually ended tragically.
> 
> If you're looking for a happy ending DO.NOT.READ.ON.
> 
> I'm giving you fair warning so that you can turn away now.
> 
> If you do decide to continue on because you love angst and hurting yourself, then please leave me some kudos or comments if you liked it. I'd love to hear what you think! And if you chose to read, but don't like angst and leave a comment complaining about the unhappy ending, I will just say I told you so.

**Ios**

  
  


For a number of reasons, Ios was one of Laurent's favorite stops. The weather was always warm, unlike Vere where the winter was long and cold. In Ios, fish were always fresh, and there were plenty of swimming holes. Laurent loved being by the water, even when docked. The smell of the ocean, the salt, and the sounds of the waves soothed him. It felt like home.

Another reason he loved coming to Ios was it’s beauty. The Kingdom made sure that the town was a decent walk away from the ocean and the port, so the ocean view wasn’t obstructed by buildings. In all of the other islands they had been to, Laurent had never seen sand as white, or as soft as the sands of Ios. When he picked up a handful, the sand was so thin it ran right through the cracks in between his fingers.

However, the best part of Ios was it’s cliffs, formed of white limestone that gave Ios it’s nickname: ‘the white city’. In any other town, on any other island, you would be able to see their ship  _ The Sunburst _ as it was coming in.

_ The Sunburst _ was a full rigged Galleon ship fortified with 30 cannons. The bow had a flying jib, and an outer jib, and in the middle of the ship were two masts. The mast closest to the bow from the bottom going up, had a Foresail, a Lower and Upper Fore Topsail, and a Fore Top-Gallant Sail. The mast behind it had a Main Sail, and a Lower and Upper Topsail. Finally, on the stern there was a smaller sail, finished off with a Spanker. The boat was made of cypress wood, varnished to make the wood dark and give it a gleam. In any other place, the townsfolk would be frightened by the sight of such a big ship, obviously of a pirate persuasion coming in, and they would most likely alert the Navy, but not at Ios. 

Auguste liked to dock at a particular spot just behind the big cliffs. It was tricky and dangerous, not an area they were able to land, or leave when the water was too rough, or the weather was bad. If you came in from right behind the cliffs no one would even know you were there. This was their one safe areas. That’s why they never looted or raided Ios, and why they left it alone.

Laurent was too young to go out with the crew so late, but he didn’t want to anyway. He preferred staying on the ship. Tonight he was playing a game of dice against himself, his Uncle watching nearby, when Jord ran onto the deck, panting. Jord was one of Auguste’s most trusted men. He had been with Auguste for as long as Laurent could remember, and from what he heard, even before that. 

Jord opened his mouth and said the eight words that Laurent had never wanted to hear.

“Auguste’s been arrested. He’s to hang at dawn.”

The cup of dice clattered to the deck of the boat, making a loud noise in the silence that followed from Jord’s announcement. The dice rolled across the dock, landing on the exact numbers that Laurent had needed. He didn’t notice. His world was turning black. The sounds of the ocean pounding loudly in his ears. Laurent felt like he was going to be sick.

When he began to hear again, he heard his Uncle barking orders, telling Jord to go round up the men, those who could still be found at the pub or brothel, and bring them back immediately. 

Once the crew got back aboard ‘The Sunburst’, they all tried to think of some way to rescue him. They didn’t want to let their Captain go without a fight, but all of the plans they could come up with needed more time. Dawn was only a few hours away, and the prison in Ios was not only heavily guarded, but one of the best made prisons they had ever come across. There was nothing they could do.

When dawn was on the horizon, Jord and a few of Auguste’s men headed to the town square. They wouldn’t be able to give Auguste a pirate’s funeral, so the least they could do was see him off, to witness his last stand.

Laurent wanted to go with them. He wanted to be able to say goodbye to his brother. Jord argued against it, but in the end his Uncle gave permission. They all went down together. The crowd was huge, even so early in the morning. The townspeople were never one to miss a public execution.

As rays of sun were peeking over the horizon, trying to break out, Auguste was marched out. The sleeves of his white shirt were rolled up, and on his wrists rested a pair of shackles. He stumbled as he tried to climb the stairs, another pair around his ankles, weighing him down.

He was marched to the middle of the makeshift stage by the executioner, his head held high, posture straight. He didn’t want to show any fear or weakness. He was not afraid of death, but of what was going to happen to those he left behind.

An older man, with greying hair, and rich-looking clothes came to stand in front of him. 

“Our town has been lucky enough not to be plagued by pirates. That doesn’t mean that others haven’t. Those towns are our neighbors, people we trade with, people we need to look out for. If their trade suffers due to raids, looting, fires, and killing, then so does ours.”

“Today, we are taking a stand. A step towards ending piracy for good. This,” he said grabbing Auguste by his ponytail, and pulling his head back to look at the crowd,“is one of the most feared pirate captains on the seas. His ship has been seen accosting lawful ships on the open seas, raiding towns and stealing goods meant for us. He will be hanged and his body exposed, hung from a cliff to warn all pirates that we in Ios are not to be messed with!”

The crowd cheered and the man turned towards Auguste. “Any last words pirate filth?”

Auguste looked out at the crowd, eyes searching. When they landed on Laurent he frowned, as if he couldn’t believe they let him come. His little brother, the person he cared about most in his life, should not be witnessing his death.

“You cannot catch all of us, and my men will not take this lightly. One day, your town will burn, and I will look down upon it and laugh,” he said, and spat on the man’s shoe.

The man frowned, and gestured to the executioner. “Hang him.”

Auguste calmly let the man wrangle him into the rope, and steadily held the crowd’s gaze as it tightened around his neck. Finally, his gaze landed on Laurent, and he shot him a small smile. Auguste wanted to try and show Laurent that it was okay, that even though he’d be gone everything would be alright.

“Brother!” Laurent called out as the box was kicked out from underneath Auguste’s feet. His body dropped, and it spasmed for a minute as he struggled, his eyes bulging, face purpling, then stopped.

“Noooo!” Laurent screamed, as he broke free from his Uncle’s grasp, running for the gallows. “Auguste!”

Someone’s hand grabbed him, and pulled him against their body, another hand going to his mouth and covering it.

“Shhhh...little one” a woman's voice said. “You don’t want to be hanged too. You may have your revenge one day, but today is not that day.”

Laurent peered up at the richly dressed older man, who had just condemned his brother to death for a brief moment, studying him, filing away what he looked like, as the woman pulled him from the crowd. One day. One day he would find that man, and he would bring him to justice. 

**Vanne’s Orphanage**

The woman who saved Laurent was named Vannes. She was Veretian like him, with a similar story. She had dirty blonde hair in a pompadour. Her skin was weathered from the salt water, her orphanage being so close to it, and if you looked close enough you could see the cracks that were beginning to form in the skin of her face. Vannes was an androgynous woman of average size, often mistaken for a man from behind, but revealed to be a woman when seen from upfront. If she had money to spend on well tailored clothes, she would come off as regal.

Her father had been a pirate captain when she was younger. He too had been caught and hung in Ios. The crew left her here. Women were believed to be bad luck on pirate ships, and they had only tolerated her because they had been afraid of her father. The woman who used to own this orphanage found her stealing a piece of fruit from the street market, and took her in. When she died a year ago, Vannes took her place. She knew what Laurent was going through, and as a result took him in. She told him that when he was older, if he still wanted his revenge, she wouldn’t stop him. She also warned him that revenge could ruin lives, but the choice was ultimately up to him.

She brought him a wooden training sword not soon after he arrived so that if, one day in the future, he decided to take his revenge, he’d be prepared.

It was a nice day outside, and when Laurent was done with all of his chores, he went down by the water not far from the Orphanage. He was practicing with his sword when someone spoke to him.

“I have a sword just like that!”

Laurent turned towards the voice. It was a boy only a few years older than him. His skin was tan, dark from being out in the sun, his hair a mess of curls atop his head. He was tall and lanky like he had just had a growth spurt and still needed to grow into it, his arms and legs being too long for his torso. His clothes were a lot newer than Laurent’s, and looked expensive. A rich kid from the town then. This almost made Laurent turn away from him, still he paused. Having been raised at sea he hadn’t met many others his age. He was curious, but didn’t know what to say, so Laurent just stared at him.

“I’ve been practicing a lot. I’m pretty good,” the boy continued. “When I get older I want to join the navy.”

Laurent tensed. Of course a rich boy like him would want to. 

“But it’s boring practicing by myself. My brother doesn’t play with me anymore. He’s old enough to use real swords now, and he says wooden ones are for children. I have no one to spar with.”

Laurent sighed wondering when the boy was going to stop talking.

“Can I practice with you?”

“I only have one sword,” Laurent said, figuring the other would get the hint and leave for he didn’t want to spar with his future enemy.

“That’s alright. I can bring mine here tomorrow.”

Laurent paused thinking about it, and the boy continued sensing his hesitation.

“You won’t get any better practicing by yourself. You need a challenge.”

The boy was right. It would be nice to have someone to practice with. Especially if he wanted to get any better.

“Alright,” he finally said, nodding.

The boy grinned widely. “Great!” he offered his hand. “I’m Damen.” 

Laurent took it. “Laurent.”

“See you tomorrow Laurent!”

Laurent watched Damen walk away, and then turned his focus back to practicing. 

True to his word, Damen came back the next day, and the next, and the next, until days turned into months. They both had very different fighting styles. When Vannes had time, she tutored Laurent in sword fighting. She had learned to fight from her father, a pirate, so she taught Laurent the same way. Damen on the other hand learned from a famous teacher. His style was more structured, and had more finesse to it. It didn’t have the same touch of flair to it as a pirates though. 

The only problem was that Damen was older, and stronger then Laurent. Laurent knew that he would never win so he resorted to trickery, using Damen’s soft spot against him.

Damen brought his sword crashing down on Laurent’s. Laurent stumbled back and fell to the ground. Damen paused, and pulled his sword away before offering his hand to the fallen man. Laurent took it, and as he was being pulled up, brought his sword up and poked Damen in the side with it.

“You’re dead!”

Damen frowned, and then sighed. “You always fight unfairly.”

Laurent smiled. “It’s not my fault that you always fall for the same trick.”

Damen furrowed his brows, and opened his mouth to say something but was cut off when Vannes called Laurent inside.

“I’ll see you tomorrow?” he asked.

Laurent nodded. “Tomorrow.”

But, there never was a tomorrow. When he got back to the house, a gruff man was standing next to Vannes, towering over her, dwarfing her in size. 

The man turned to him, his face weathered by the sea and salt air. He looked at Laurent sizing him up.

“This him?” The man’s voice was rough.

Vannes nodded. “Yes, this is him.”

He looked at Laurent skeptically. “I heard ye used to be a pirate. Ran with a crew.”

Laurent nodded.

“How long were ye with them?”

“I was born on the sea 9 years ago.”

Do ye miss it? Would ye want to go back to her?”

Laurent nodded. “Everyday. She calls to me.”

“Know the feeling. Name’s Makedon.”

“Laurent.”

“Well Laurent, I’m getting old, and old men don’t last long out there. I have no children of my own, but I do have a crew. I need someone to train, and take over as Captain when I’m ready to become a landlubber. Would ye be interested?”

Laurent looked at Vannes.

“It’s your choice Laurent,” she said. “I’ll always be here for you if you end up deciding that’s not the life you want.”

Laurent took a moment to think on it. He’d been here a little over a year now, and Vannes had become like a mother to him, Damen his best friend. He’d miss them both, but he’d made a promise to Auguste and to himself not too long ago. He needed to avenge his brother, and he wouldn’t be able to do it stuck here on land.

“When do we leave?” he finally asked.

Makedon smiled, and slapped Laurent on the back, almost sending him stumbling to the other side of the room. “That’s the spirit lad. Pack your bag, and we’ll be off. The sea she awaits.”

**Ios- ten years later**

Damen had been devastated when he went to the orphanage to ask after Laurent when he didn’t show up at the beach the next day, and had been told that he was gone. They had practiced together almost everyday for over a year, and had become close. Now, not only had he lost his practice partner, but one of his best friends.

That didn’t stop him though. He went back home, and convinced his father to get him a real tutor. Through him he had met his best friend Nikandros. He and Nik practiced under the same tutor, and even afterwards would practice some more. The two of them learned quickly, and soon became his best students.

When Damen was old enough he signed up for the Navy. He insisted on starting out at the lowest rank, wanting no special treatment because his father ran the town. Through his natural commanding abilities, commanding abilities, tactile abilities, and his strong fighting techniques he quickly rose to Captain of his own ship, _ The Leaina _ . 

She was a beautiful ship.  _ The Leaina _ was equipped with 62 cannons, and 46 guns. She was a Man-of-War ship, and could hold up to 124 guns, but Damen didn’t have the manpower for that.

_ The Leaina  _ had a long bow which stuck out past the upper and lower decks. It had one small mast at the bow of the ship, and three larger ones in the middle of the ship. At the stern was a huge Spanker sail. When all of the sails were open, _ The Leaina,  _ was truly a sight to behold.

When Damen was given the ship and able to choose his own crew, he chose none other than his best friend to stand beside him as first mate. At first, even though he had earned his position, many were doubtful about working under someone so young. Some still didn’t think that he had done it on his own, and had relied on his father. Not everyone aboard his ship respected him.

Then one day when they were chasing down a small band of pirates, a huge storm hit. Many men panicked and did not know what to do, but Damen remained calm. He held it together, and barked out orders confidently. Under his command, his ship and whole crew managed to make it back in tact and alive. After that, no one questioned him.

  
  
  
  


Theomedes called Damen into his office, Kastor already there. Kastor had never been one for the sea so he helped his father out with matters pertaining to the town such as budgeting, complaints, repairs, anything that needed to be taken care of.

“Sit,” Theomedes said. He waited until Damen took a seat in the chair in front of his desk before speaking again. “You have heard of the new problem wracking our waters these days?”

Damen nodded. It used to just be small, independent bands of pirates that they needed to watch out for, but recently a new captain had come into play. They called him the ‘Prince of the Pirates”. 

No one was safe from him and his crew. They ransacked towns, boarded ships and took everything they could. They hadn’t attacked Ios yet, but Damen was sure that it was only a matter of time. 

Rumor had it that even other pirates feared him. He was the only one so far that had been able to assemble the other pirate crews together and get them working as one, making it one of the biggest crews Damen or the Navy had ever come across. No one wanted to go against them. It also didn’t help that no one had any clue on the Prince’s identity. He came out of nowhere, and apparently didn’t want to to be in the spotlight. Most pirates wanted notoriety, and they tended to get cocky and spread their name and appearance.

“You’re talking about the Prince,” Damen said.

Theomedes sighed. He hated that name. Calling a pirate nobility, there was nothing worse.

“Our traders are afraid to leave the ports. They’re afraid of being boarded or worse. Fewer traders are also venturing here and docking. It’s causing problems for our city and the towns nearby. We need trade to survive. Something needs to be done, but no one is brave enough to go after him, not since two naval captains already tried and failed...”

Damen nodded. “I’ll need ships and men. More than I have now.”

“Kastor has already taken care of it.”

Kastor who had been standing behind their father’s chair, took a step forward and spoke up.

“I found money to pay for shiphands, a lot of it. No one wanted to venture out after the Prince unless they were promised a large sum when they got back, or a large sum for their families if they didn’t. We put up posters around the town. Anyone who volunteers will be paid handsomely. They will get half now, and half when they return with the Prince of the Pirates alive or dead. When money was on the table, men couldn’t sign up fast enough.”

“But are they able to fight?” Damen asked. Yes he needed men, but men who couldn’t protect themselves were worthless.

“Most of them can, some of them can’t. All have experience on boats though. That was a prerequisite. The ones who cannot defend themselves will take care of the sails, help with other menial tasks around the ship. That’ll leave everyone who has fighting experience, and those in the Navy on top, and ready at any moment for battle.”

The circumstances weren’t the best Damen could hoping for, but it would have to do. After all, their ships were fast, big, and could hold many cannons. They really just needed men to man the cannons. He was sure that with only a single fleet of their biggest and strongest ships they’d be able to overpower the Prince of Pirates. After all, the Navy was better trained then a group of outlaw pirates. 

**The Leaina**

Damen woke in the morning with a hangover. He and his regular crew had gone to the local bar for a few glasses of beer. After all, the next day they were planning to go after the Prince of the Pirates and though Damen had every confidence in himself and his crew, there was always that small chance. That small chance of something going wrong. Of them not making it back. So why not have some fun.

Damen rolled over, his arm flinging out to hit an empty bed. He opened his eyes. The girl that he had taken home last night was already gone, having slipped out while he was sleeping. A small wave of disappointment went through him. He had been looking forward to a last hurrah before getting dressed for the day. 

A few hours later saw him on the water with the Prince’s ship in front of him. That had been a few hours ago, and now he was on the water with the Prince’s ship in front of him. Damen had been shocked when they ran across the ship not too far from the Port of Ios. ‘The Auguste’ it was called, or as the locals had named it ‘ _ The Sapphire’ _ due to it’s bright blue sails. ‘ _ The Auguste _ ’ was a Galleon ship. The mast positioned on the front of the ship, hung off a bit, longer than the bow itself. In the middle of the ship were two more masts, with a large mast positioned on the stern. The ship had 40 cannons on it, and was fast. As fast as any Navy ship, which surprised Damen. 

When Damen had first spotted the ship alone, he couldn’t believe his good luck. After all, he had taken many ships out with him, per his father’s advice, thinking they’d need to surround the Prince’s ship, and fight off the ships of all of his men. Maybe the stories about how many men worked for him, and supported him were a lie. Then, when he saw the speed of the ship, Damen knew he wasn’t as lucky as he originally thought. He and his men had been chasing ‘ _ The Auguste _ for a while now, and they were none closer.  _ The Auguste  _ was too far out of reach.

The chase couldn’t go on forever though. Eventually one would slow down, one would tire, and Damen was damned sure that it was not going to be him. He and his men kept at it. 

Finally, in the distance Damen saw a narrow path through a set of cliffs, and the Prince heading straight towards it. There was no way he was going to go through it. Going through it would make him have to slow down, and that would put him at a great disadvantage, especially with only one ship. It seemed like The Prince was going to do it anyway. Perhaps he didn’t think Damen brave enough to follow him inside. 

As Damen’s men went around the gorge, Damen followed  _ The Auguste _ . They both had to slow their ships down, Damen barking orders to his men. He was slowly gaining on ‘ _ The Auguste _ ’, but wasn’t stupid enough to launch fire in here. If it hit the wall of the cliff and rocks fell off that could be dangerous for him. If he hit  _ The Auguste _ hard enough to sink the ship, Damen would be trapped. It was too narrow for him to be able to go around the wreckage. No, he would just keep gaining on him, and then when he was out of harm’s way inf the canyon then he would open fire. 

Neither one of them were out of the canyon yet when he heard blasts. It sounded like cannons being shot off, guns firing. He even thought he heard some yelling. Damen wasn’t sure what was going on until he followed _ The Auguste  _ out.

It was pure and utter chaos. There were a vast number of ships fighting with Damen’s own. The Prince had led them right into a trap. Damen didn’t have time to count how many ships they were up against, or to shout at his men to start firing because as soon as the were out of the canyon, pirates boarded the stern of his ship. 

Damen looked up at the walls and saw ropes dangling from them. Somehow the Prince knew they were coming, and he had arranged this whole thing. Fuck. It wasn’t looking good. Damen unsheathed his sword, and charged towards the pirates on the ship.

  
  


Everything happened so quickly. Most of the pirates weren’t nearly as good fighters as Damen, and were no match for him. He started to pick his way through them one by one, their bodies falling and lying on his deck. The other ships though weren’t having such luck.

The few of the ships that were manned exclusively by the navy were holding their own, but not all were navy ships. Not all were trained men who knew what they were doing. Due to this weakness, and the experience of the pirates  _ The Auguste _ managed to make it through battle, and pulled up besides  _ The Leaina _ . Grapple hooks were thrown on board Damen’s ship, pulling the two close together, and more pirates began to board. 

Damen’s crew rushed over trying to prevent as many from boarding as possible, but they were outnumbered. Currently, Damen was fighting two pirates. Both were in front of him, one on the left and one on the right. They attacked Damen in tandem, attempting to tire him out. He parried their strikes with his single sword, but he wouldn’t be able to hold them off for long.

With each of their strikes Damen was driven backwards to protect himself, and soon he was backed up against the door in the wall that housed the stairs to the cabin of the ship. He felt the door behind him open, and a hand came around his waist, and a cutlass around and against his throat.

“Drop your weapon.”

The two pirates in front of him stopped attacking, and stepped away. He dropped his sword.

“Tell your men to stop fighting.”

When Damen didn’t say anything the cutlass pressed a bit harder against his throat.

“Stop fighting!” he shouted.

No one was able to hear him over the noise of the battle. Everyone being too concentrated on what their own fights, the opponent that they were engaged with. 

Three loud shots were fired into the air, and a voice called out.

“Everyone listen to your captain!”

The chaos stopped, and Damen turned to look at the man who yelled. Standing on the rail of his ship was the most beautiful man, not to mention the palest, that Damen had ever seen. His coloring reminded him of the white buildings in Ios. He was skinny, and every inch of him was covered in fabric. If you weren’t looking closely, you would miss his defined muscles beneath the clothing. His eyes were bright blue, brighter than the ocean at sunrise, and his long hair, pulled into a ponytail, was so blonde that the sun shone off of it.

“Tell them again.” the man said looking at Damen.

“Stop fighting,” Damen said. “Stand down. They’ve taken our ship.”

The man smiled and jumped gracefully from the railing. 

Damen noticed then that the ocean was silent. There were no sounds of fire coming from any of the other ships. He wanted to look around, wanted to see how many of his ships were still afloat if any, but he couldn’t turn his head. 

The pirate walked over and kicked Damen’s sword far away from him.

“You may let him go,” he said.

The cutlass was removed from his throat, his torso released. The person who had been holding his cutlass walked around him, and Damen’s mouth dropped open in shock. 

“You.”

The woman holding the cutlass smirked.

The woman in front of him was short and muscular. Her hair was pulled off to the side in two braids making it look like half of her head was shaved while the rest of her hair was down.She wore a pair of trousers with a sash tied around her waist. Her shirt was sleeveless showing off the muscles in her arms, and a ‘V’ collarcut down her shirt showing off her ample breasts. Right between them was a love bite from the night before.

“This is why I had to leave so early. Needed to get below deck.” she said, her eyes roaming down Damen’s body and stopping at his crotch. “No hard feelings I hope.”

“But but you’re a…a….”

“Woman?”

“Yes! Women are bad luck on ships!”

A chuckle came from the man standing next to her, Damen having forgotten he was there.

“Doesn’t look that way to me. Halvik here is one of the best pirates in my crew.”

“Your crew. You’re the Prince,” he said, eyes looking the man over. “You’re so young, to have a crew.”

The man quirked his eyebrow. “So are you,” he paused and took a step closer. “This your ship?”

Damen nodded. His eyes looked so familiar.

“You must be Captain Damianos then. Son of Theomedes Akielos.”

“Yes.”

“Good.”

The blonde tucked his gun into the waistband of his pants, and pulled out his sword. He then used it to gesture to Damen’s discarded weapon.

“Go ahead. I won’t kill an unarmed man.”

Damen studied him. “You know my name. Am I to fight you without knowing yours?”

“Laurent. Laurent DeVere. Brother of Auguste DeVere who was murdered by your father.”

Damen’s eyes widened. “Laurent,” he said, repeating the name. “That’s why you look so familiar. It’s me, Damen.”

Laurent furrowed his brows. “Damen?”

Damen nodded and took a step forward, Laurent’s sword rising to poke him in the chest as he did so. Damen put his hands up. “We used to practice sword fighting together. Down by the beach near the orphanage.”

Laurent scoffed. He couldn’t believe it. He had been hellbent on getting revenge on the man who had killed his brother for so long, and it had been right in front of him for years. It figured. Theomedes took his brother away from him, now Laurent would return the favor and taken someone he loved away too. 

“Just because we were childhood friends doesn’t mean anything. Pick up your sword.”

“C’mon Laurent you were never able to-”

“I said pick up your sword.”

“And if you win, what happens to my men?”

“Those who want to join my crew can. Those who don’t want too will go down with their ships. The choice is theirs.”

“I don’t want to fight you.”

Laurent glared, and took a step forward, his sword now pressing into Damen’s stomach.

“I didn’t say that was an option. I boarded your ship, I’m the one who won. Either you pick up your sword and fight me, or I kill you where you stand and all your men watch. They’ll see you fall as a coward.”

Damen sighed. “There must be something I can do? Something that I can help you with.”

“There is nothing that I need your help with. Nothing that the navy could ever-”

“Captain.” Halvik said. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but look at this ship. Look at all of his men. Look at how many cannons and guns they have. He could help us with….you know.” she said, hesitating for a moment. Halvik didn’t want to give away any more information than that before speaking with Laurent first. “Maybe we should go below deck for a moment.”

Laurent looked at Halvik, anger in his eyes. He was mad at her for being so presumptuous as to interrupt him. Mad at her for thinking they would need his help. Mad at her for possibly being right. Yet it was a thought to entertain. There was a reason she was his right-hand woman after all. She helped him figure things out, and at this moment, with his revenge so close, he wasn’t clear headed, but she was.

He nodded to show he heard her, and understood. “We can talk below deck.”

Laurent turned around to his men. “Take them prisoner. Tie them up, and keep watch on them until we return. This ship is now ours and so are they.”

The crew cheered, raising their swords into the air. Laurent walked over to Damen and grabbed his shoulder, turning him around roughly. His sword was now poked in between Damen’s shoulder blades.

“You go first. Go below deck to your office. If you try anything funny, it’ll one word from me and your crew is as good as dead.”

Damen walked down the stairs carefully, Laurent following him, Halvik right behind him. When they got to Damen’s office he opened the door slowly, and Laurent pushed him inside. 

“Sit down. In the chair.”

Damen did as he said and walked around the desk to sit down. Laurent perched on the edge of his desk, his sword still in his hand but not directly pointing at Damen anymore. Halvik closed the door, and leaned back against it.

“You don’t need that.” Damen said looking at Laurent’s sword. “I’m not going to attack you. I have honor.”

Laurent scoffed. “I used to think so,” he said. “When I was younger, I looked up to you. There is no honor in the Navy.”

Damen sighed, resigned.

“He knows your ship,” Halvik said. “That’s why he is always one step ahead of us. If anyone sees our ship, people talk, word spread, and the news gets back to him. Once he hears it he flees, and is therefore always unreachable. But his ship,” she said, inclining her chin at Damen. “Is not recognizable. It means nothing to him. He wouldn’t be listening for news of it. It’s our best chance at catching him, taking him by surprise.”

Laurent stayed quiet for a moment. “I know you’re right, but the crew won’t like working with the Navy.”

“They won’t like it, no, but they will follow you. They trust you, and they will do whatever you say.”

“Who are we talking about.” Damen finally said, tired of the, talking like he wasn’t even in the room.

Laurent looked at him. “My Uncle. I’m sure he was the one who turned my brother in to your father, and the only reason that Auguste ever got killed. He still sails on my brother’s ship, and I want it back. It’s rightfully mine, and my brother’s old crew is mine too. I want my revenge, and my inheritance.”

“But as Halvik said, he always seems to be one step ahead of us. I have hundreds of men, and I’m sure one or two of them are working for him, spying for him. Did I mention I’m also feared across the seas. That’s the reason you came after me isn’t it? Most people are too afraid to stand up to me. News of me travels far, and can easily reach his ears. If it continues this way, I might never catch him, and this life, all I’ve worked for will have been for nothing.”

Damen stared at Laurent, a frown spreading across his lips.

“Your life, it seems like a sad one. You have two purposes and both are for revenge. When we were younger, you were happy, you seemed to have a long successful life ahead of you. When you were picked up from the orphanage I was devastated, but glad to see that life come to fruition for you, but it hasn’t. I will help you with your revenge Laurent.”

“I do not need your pity Damianos! I do not want you to help me because you feel sorry for me. I’d rather just kill you and steal the ship for myself.”

“Yes, but this ship is different than a pirate’s. My men and I know it like the back of our hands. We can have it running smoothly right away, where you would need some time to learn. I’m not helping you out of pity, I’m helping you because you’re an old friend and that’s what friends do. But, there is a request.”

Laurent laughed. “A request? I don’t think that you’re in a position to make requests.”

Damen shrugged. “My men and I will help you, but there are men here who are not part of the navy, who are not real fighters. Those that are still alive, I want them to have safe passage home to go back to their families. I do not want them to have to choose between joining you and death. Let them live out the rest of their lives. They were only doing this for money to provide for those families. 

Laurent looked at Damen and then nodded. “I can concede to that. I don’t want landlubbers on my ships anyway. They would just cause problems with the crew. I will allow them safe passage home. The rest of your men will stay and will help me. This ship, and theirs are mine to command. You will let your men know that they now listen to me.”

Damen held out his hand. “Deal.”

Laurent raised his eyebrow, and then took his hand shaking it. He then hopped off the desk, and put his sword back into the sheath. 

“We will gather the men, and tell them what is happening. Anyone who is not an official part of the crew can go home. Then we will decide what ships are still in good condition to continue on with us. Some of my crew will be on each naval ship to make sure things run smoothly, and that no one decides to be a hero.”

Laurent turned to Damen. “You will be on my ship, as my prisoner. Your crew will want to protect you, and be less inclined to do something they’ll regret that way.” 

**The Auguste**

In the end they still had a decent number of ships. Laurent had taken Damen onto  _ The Auguste _ , while Halvik was commanding  _ The Leaina. _ Besides those two they had two more Navy ships. The Navy ships went faster than many of the other pirate ships Laurent commanded so he decided that they would make due with just the four. The other two ships were commanded by two more of Laurent’s men. A pirate named Lazar, and one named Orlant. Damen’s men, and the rest of Laurent’s were split among the ships evenly so they couldn’t be overpowered.

After the fight the men were tired, and they needed to restock up. Laurent, though he wanted to get his revenge as soon as possible wasn’t going to let that want endanger his men. He decided to have them take the two days journey to Vask.

The first night, Laurent tried hard to avoid Damen, but the other found Laurent leaning against the rain on the bow of the ship. His was leaning on his arms which were on the railing, his hands dangling over looking out at the sea.

“You know the thing I love the most about being on the open sea at night,.” Damen said leaning on the rail a few feet away from him.

Laurent spared him a glance before looking back at the ocean. “What?”

“The stars.”

Laurent rolled his eyes, and let out a huff. “You’re a romantic.”

“Isn’t that what you’re looking at?”

“No, I’m looking at the ocean.”

“Why? Don’t you see enough of it during the day?”

“Tell me why you’re looking at the stars. If I deign it a good enough answer perhaps I’ll tell you why I’m looking at the ocean.”

Damen was quiet for a moment, and then tilted his head towards the sky.

“They’re beautiful. The pictures hidden in them. The stories behind the pictures. There are many Akielion tales about the stars and the Gods who live among them. When I was younger I used to love reading about them. Then when I had my first journey on the ocean I was scared. The vastness of the ocean unnerved me. It’s so big and daunting. I kept thinking, what if I get lost? What if I can never find my way back home?”

Damen paused before continuing. 

“Then my mentor, the man who was training me, showed me how to read the stars. They’re always changing. Sometimes they’re visible, sometimes they’re not. If you’re lost, and you can find the North Star, and know which angle to head towards, it will lead you back to safety. It’s a reminder that home is never far away. Also, they’re beautiful.”

“Like I said, romantic. As you know, I’ve never had a stationary home. My home was always the ocean. Ships, they’re small, and wherever you go, someone is around. When I was younger, I didn’t like being around others.”

Damen quirked an eyebrow. “Only when you were younger?”

Laurent glared at him. “I don’t have to tell you.”

Damen put his hands up. “Sorry. Continue.”

“I still don’t. But, at night, it was always quiet. People going below to eat, and drink, maybe play a few games. Then they would pass out. The people on deck would be scarce, and I’d stand on the bow of the ship, much like I am now. I was never lonely though because the sounds of the ocean, it's waves crashing against the hull kept me company, relaxed me. Sometimes Auguste, my brother, would stand here just like you are with me, and we would talk.”

“About what?”

“Anything.”

“We can talk about anything,” Damen said. “What do you want to talk about?”

Laurent chuckled and looked over at him. “No we can’t Damianos. We’re enemies, and once this is over, I’ll kill you and send your head to your father. Enemies don’t talk.” he said pushing away from the railing. 

“Good night.”

Damen watched Laurent walk away before sighing. He turned back to the ocean.

“Good night.” 

The second night, Damen found Laurent once again in the same spot. This time he greeted him with a ‘Good evening’, and Laurent didn’t even acknowledge him. Damen didn’t let that deter him. Instead he pointed to one of the constellations. 

“That one, in Akelios, we call it Kyon or Kyon Aster. And the one next to it, the fox, is Kyon Minor. It reminds me of you.”

“I remind you of a dog?” Laurent asked, finally turning his head to look at Damen.

Damen chuckled. “Not the dog no. You remind me of the fox. And the Kyon it’s not just any dog, it’s a magical dog. It’s said that it was destined never to surrender a chase. It was passed through a family of gods for generations. Then one day, the last son to have it, sent it to hunt down a fox, which was destined to never be caught. Because of their contrary fate, they were placed amongst the stars to play out their chase forever. That’s why you’re not the dog. The dog will never be able to catch the fox, but I think you will catch all that you’re after. Me, I think I’m the dog. Chasing after the fox since childhood, but never catching it.”

This time Damen was the first to push away from the rail.

“Goodnight Laurent,” he said before heading below deck.

  
  
  
  


**Vask**

They reached Vask late in the afternoon of the next day. The port of Vask was not what many would expect it to be. In most towns the port was a noisy, bustling area. The buildings were nicer than some of the other areas, as this was the first part of town that people docking usually saw. The port was usually well kept up, and for the most part well guarded and clean. This was not the case in Vask.

While they were docking, a man came up to their ships asking who they were, demanding to know their business. Laurent didn’t say anything, instead he let Halvik yell down from her ship, and speak instead. The man automatically recognized her, and sent men to help the ship dock safely. As the boat was being secured, he could hear a loud bell going off, loud enough to be heard through the small town, and even beyond.

When he walked along the docks and the port, all he saw were men working. There were no women around, no children. The houses nearby were small, and simple bungalows. The paint on many houses was chipped,flaking. and there were not tacky decorations as one would see in Vere.

Laurent walked with Halvik at the front of all of their men, leading them. He could see Damen and his men looking around curiously. Vask had to be very different from what they’ve imagined, and what they were used to.

Finally, they reached the end of the town, and it opened up into a clearing. 

Damen stopped besides Laurent. “Where are we going? I thought we were here to stock up, and rest. There’s nothing here.”

“Be patient.” Laurent said. “Just wait.”

About five minutes later, a group of about ten women arrived on horseback.

A large woman swung down off of her horse. She shot Halvik a grin, and walked over pulling her close, hugging her tightly.

The women exchanged a few words in Vaskian before the second woman turned to Laurent and spoke to him. Laurent and her conversed for a few moments before Laurent nodded.

Laurent then turned towards Damen, and all of their men.

“This is Kashel. She has been taking care of Halvik’s tribe while she’s traveled with us. Their tribe is women only, only allowing men in on special occasions. Tonight will be one of those. They cannot take all of us with them. Only one man per horse. The woman will choose the men that they think are best to continue on with us, but be warned, the men who are chosen will have to lie with one or more of them, in hopes of getting them pregnant. They don’t expect anything from you after you have lain with them, but if it makes your uncomfortable, if they chose you, you can say no.”

He then turned back to Kashel, and nodded. “ _ You may choose. _ ”

“You and I will be going with them, as leaders of our men,” Laurent said to Damen. “My crew will stay in town, and obey their rules, and relax for the night, perhaps drink and gamble. I would have you tell your men remaining behind that I expect the same from them as well.”

Damen nodded. “I’ll tell them,” he paused before continuing. “This means we will have to lie with them also?”

Laurent shook his head. “I am not their type. They prefer bigger stronger men. Men who will give their children stronger traits. If I was not captain I would not be going. You on the other hand. They would choose you, even if you were not a leader. You are exactly their type. “Plus,” Laurent continued, “even if I wasn’t their type, I would not lie with them.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t prefer women,” he said.

Kashel came over to tell him that the men were chosen, and they had all agreed. Laurent turned to the men to survey them. It was no surprise that almost all of the men were Akelions, though he noticed that Lazar was grouped in with them, and smirked. Laurent wondered how the other convinced them to take him along.

Once they got until their horses they were all given blindfolds to tie around their heads, the women on the horses checking them to make sure they were done up correctly. Then they took off.

As they were blindfolded, they had to ride slower than usual, which Laurent was glad for. He was used to being on a ship. If a ship rocked and lurched, even in the strongest of storms. He was able to stand there without moving. Balancing on a horse, and balancing on a ship were two very different skills. One he didn’t have much when it came to horses. He couldn’t see how Damen was faring, but he assumed not much better than he was.

When they were told to take the blindfolds off they were in a nice little town. Much more like what one would expect of a port town. There were no shops, but there was a small clinic, and the rest of the buildings were houses. They were small bungalows too, but they were painted bright colors, and more up-keept than those at the docks. 

As they walked through the town, more and more women came out of their houses to see the strange foreign men. Some of the women called to them, and whistled at them as men normally would. One by one they joined their tiny group, and walked through the small town together.

Kashel led them over to the outskirts of all the buildings. Here there was a large fire pit, with some cushions scattered around. There was a roof over everything to keep the rain out if the weather was rough, but there were no walls. It was all open. 

“We will drink here.” she said in broken Veretian. “And celebrate. Later tonight we will have a feast, and fuck by the fire.”

Laurent translated for Damen, and Damen for his men who did not understand. They all followed the Vaskian women under the awning.

As soon as Kashel said that, Halvik went and took a seat at the head, Kashel sitting next to her. The men sat, and the woman automatically started bringing them drinks. Damen sat next to Laurent around the fire both taking a sip of their drink when Halvik raised her cup to them.

Everyone took a sip from their cup, and a mewl was heard. Damen looked over and saw a lamb being dragged to the fire by a rope around its neck. Kashel stood up from her seat next to Halvik.

“Now that we have our drinks, it is time to get some food in us also. An offering, and feast just for you. Everyone make sure to eat and drink a lot as you’ll need your strength for later,” she said with a wink. Kashel then lifted her drink, and threw it back.

As soon as she finished her speech the lamb’s neck was cut, and all of the women gave a cheer. As the lamb was prepared for cooking the woman began to talk more, and drinks were starting to flow even faster. At this rate, Damen wasn’t sure if they’d be able to get up to the activities the women had planned for later. 

The woman began to mingle more with the men, the woman flirting with those that they were interested in. Many women came up to Damen, and he turned to talk to them. From the corner of his eye, Damen noticed no one coming to converse with Laurent. Finally, Laurent got up and went over to where Halvik and Kashel were to talk with them.

When the lamb was done cooking, and the rest of the food finished, Damen grabbed two plates and brought them over to Laurent. He sat down next to the other man and offered him one of the plates.

Laurent looked at it, and then took it from him. They ate in silence observing the other men.

“Have you made your choice for the night?” Laurent asked.

Damen shrugged. “Not sure yet.”

“I’m sure you’ll be a popular choice. No one would complain if you decided to sleep with more than one.”

“What about you?” Damen asked. 

“I told you, I’m not what they’re looking for. I need another drink,” he said, getting up and ending their conversation.

When he came back they finished the rest of their meal in silence. As soon as they were done eating, a pretty woman came up to Damen and offered her hand. Damen looked at Laurent and then took her hand. She helped him up, and kissed him. 

Damen broke the kiss, and the woman smiled at him. From the corner of his eye Damen noticed that Laurent was gone. He furrowed his brow and looked at Halvik.

“Where did Laurent go.”

“To my house. I told him he could stay there for the night when he felt ready to leave.”

The girl grabbed Damen’s hand again trying to get his attention.

“She is not the one you want to be spending the night with I take it.”

Damen shook his head.

Halvik said something to the woman in Vaskian, and she said something back before walking off.

“What did she say?”

“That if you changed your mind, to come find her.”

“Which one is your house?”

Damen followed her directions, and ended up in front of one of the small houses. This one looked less used and lived in than the others, even from the outside. Which was no surprise. After all, Halvik was off traveling with Laurent. Damen knocked on the door.

It took a few minutes, but Laurent opened the door a confused look on his face. Then he saw it was Damen.

“What are you doing here?”

“Can I come in?”

Laurent shrugged, and stepped out of the way so he could enter.

Laurent shrugged, and stepped out of the way so he could enter.

“I thought you had your entertainment for the night. Was she not to your liking?”

“No, she was. Ordinarily I’d go for her, but….”

“But what?”

“Do you not want to have sex? Being at sea for such a long time is lonely.”

“I told you, I’m not their type. They’re also not mine.”

“That wasn’t what I asked.”

Laurent sighed. “I could have been in bed already. What was your question again?”

“Do you not like sex?”

Laurent rubbed his face, sighing. “I like sex, but being at sea and not liking women I don’t get to indulge very often.”

“So why don’t you indulge with me?”

“You want me to sleep with you? Why? Do you even like men?”

Damen nodded. “I like both, but especially you Laurent. When we were children, I had the biggest crush on you. Not only did I find you cute, but your attitude, your confidence...even though you never won, you never gave up. I liked that. You’re resilient. You still are, and now you’re even more beautiful.”

“And if I say no?”

“Then I stay here and keep you company.” Damen said with a shrug. “I don't sleep with people who don’t want me. I never force it upon anyone. But if you did say yes, I’d be honored, and I’d make sure that you had an amazing night. What do you say?

Laurent paused, looking Damen over. His eyes roaming down Damen’s body, and then back up. He took a step forward, leaned up on his toes, and grabbed Damen’s face pulling it towards him, their lips connected. 

Almost as soon as Damen’s eyes fluttered shut, Laurent was pulling away. 

“Come,” he said, and grabbed Damen’s hand. He led Damen through the house until they arrived at what Laurent was looking for, the bedroom. As soon as they were in it, Laurent closed the door behind him, and kissed Damen again.

Laurent fingers were a chilly as they traveled under Damen’s shirt, and began working their way up his stomach. Damen let out a shiver, nipping Laurent’s lower lip playfully. When Laurent let out a tiny gasp, Damen took the opportunity to slide his tongue in.

As their tongues danced together, Laurent mapped out his abs with his fingertips, up to his pecs, finally stopping at his shoulders, which his shirt was not hiked up to. Laurent broke the kiss again to lift Damen’s shirt off of him, and through it on the floor.

His eyes roamed over Damen’s chest, taking him in, and Damen almost preened at all of the attention. 

“Pants too,” Laurent said before taking a step back, beginning to undo the laces at the sleeve of his shirt. His jacket was already gone, so he must have taken it off as soon as he got here earlier.

Damen kicked off his boots, then shrugged out of his pants. He noticed Laurent having trouble with his sleeve, so he walked over.   
  


“Here. Let me help with that,” Damen said.

Laurent jumped a bit, startled. He looked at Damen, eyes narrowed, and opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out.

Damen watched as Laurent’s eyes traveled down his torso, down his muscled legs, stopping at his feet before going back up, and stopping at his crotch. Laurent licked his lips.

“Well, you’re everywhere in proportion aren’t you,” he said.

Damen smiled, and before he could make a witty retort, Laurent thrust his arm out.

“Attend me.”

Damen took his arm, and undid the laces on one hand and then the other. After he undid the laces at Laurent’s chest, he turned him around to get the ones at the back of his neck. When his hands went down to the laces at Laurent’s crotch, Laurent stilled Damen’s hands.

“Enough. I can do the rest myself.”

Laurent finished undressing, leavingDamen was privy to the entirety of Laurent’s body. The other man was beautiful. His blonde hair flowing over his shoulders like the moon on a pale night. Laurent looked skinny under his pirate’s uniform, but in fact was well built. His arms and legs were muscular, and he too had abs. Training had kept him in shape.

“You’re gorgeous,” Damen said, “the most beautiful piece of treasure that I’ve ever laid eyes on.”

Laurent blushed, and walked over to Damen, placing his hands on his arm and giving it a squeeze.

“You’re not so bad yourself,” he said.

Then, Damen was kissing him again. He backed Laurent up, until the backs of his knees hit the front of the bed. Laurent’s knees buckled and he fell, Damen falling on top of him, but holding himself up to not crush Laurent.

Laurent’s arms wrapped around his neck, his fingers tangling in Damen’s curls as they kissed. When Damen pulled away it was to see Laurent, his cheeks flushed bright red, his lips swollen from his kiss, parted and panting.

Damen pecked his lips again before placing a kiss on his chin. Then he left one athis throat, his neck, pausing to take a nipple it his mouth and teasing it to hardness, doing the same to the other with his fingers, and continuing down until he reached Laurent’s crotch.

He nuzzled Laurent’s half hard cock, inhaling his scent, before running his tongue up the base. Damen took it into his mouth, rolling it around with his tongue, bringing it to full mast. When he had done so, he pulled away to look at it. Everything about the pirate was gorgeous. 

Damen ran his thumb over the tip, pressing down lighting, eliciting a moan from the blonde. Smirking, he dipped his head down to Laurent’s cock, and using his hand, ran the head of it over his own lips. 

Laurent let out a mewl, and Damen took that as his hint to take Laurent in his mouth, so he did so. He glanced up, and Laurent had his eyes closed, his bottom lip curved inward beneath his top teeth.

Slowly, Damen began to bob his head up and down Laurent’s length. As he blew him, Laurent hardly let out any sounds, but the wiggling of his body, the thrust of his hips up into the heat of Damen’s mouth, told him everything he needed to know. Laurent was enjoying himself.

Damen kept up his ministrations, and brought a hand to Laurent’s balls. He pinched one, squeezing it gently, not too much to hurt. Then he began to massage them lightly with his fingers. When he felt Laurent’s balls tighten, he speed up his mouth, until Laurent was arching his back and cumming down his throat.

He swallowed all of Laurent, and glanced up. Laurent was lying on the bed, panting, one hand resting on his stomach. Damen gave him no reprieve though. When he licked all of Laurent up, he spread Laurents legs open more with his hands, before sliding one under to lift his ass up a bit. Leaning down Damen swirled his tongue over Laurent’s hole.

Laurent jolted, and sat up quickly. 

“Wha-what are you doing!?”

Damen smirked. “What does it look like I’m doing? I’m opening you up.”

“But that’s...it’s….you don’t have to do that.”

“I know I don’t have to, but I want to. Now, sit back, close your mouth, and enjoy it.”

Laurent pursed his lips at him, but he didn’t comment back.

Satisfied that he wasn’t going to say anything else, Damen ran his tongue over his hole again, before sliding the tip of it in. Laurent groaned, his hand coming to fist itself in Damen’s hair, tugging on the curls. 

Damen let out a groan of approval before pushing his way past the tight muscles, until his tongue was all the way inside of Laurent. He began to wiggle his tongue, stretching him open more and more, making him wetter and wetter.

“Gods Damen,” Laurent said, his cock already hardening again.

Even if he was keeping track, Laurent would have lost count on how long Damen ate him out for. It seemed like it went on forever, but then again not enough. The sensation of that tongue wiggling inside of him, of Damen slowly moving it in and out of his ass as he would a finger or his cock, the sounds of him slurping at his hole. It was all to much, and soon Laurent felt that tug in his belly, and he shouted as his second orgasm overtook him. 

“You’re trying to kill me.” Laurent said panting. “You going to fuck me or not?”

Damen laughed. “Of course I am. Have some patience.” he said pulling away. Then he paused as if he realized something.

“What?” Laurent asked.

“Lube, we don’t have any.”

Laurent rolled his eyes. “I’ll be fine.”

“No you won’t. Look I’ll...let me go look,” Damen said.

Damen got off of the bed, and left the room. A moment later Laurent heard a crash. He was about to get up, and see what it was when Damen walked back in. Damen was holding what looked like a tiny bronze metal plate with a cup on it, except the cup part had some broken glass attached to it.

“Is that…”

“A lantern? Yes. It was the only thing that I could find.”

Laurent chuckled, and spread his legs for Damen as he crawled onto the bed.

“I can never say you’re not inventive.”

Damen smiled. “I am more than just good looks.” he said, watching as Laurent rolled his eyes.

He placed the broken lantern on the bedside table, and stuck his fingers into it carefully. Damen pulled them out covered in oil, and pushed a finger inside Laurent. Laurent groaned as Damen began to move it around. Soon, he added another, scissoring them together. By the time the third was added Laurent was writhing beneath him, his body flushed all over.

“Fuck me already,” Laurent commanded impatiently, his cock hard again.

“As you wish,” Damen said and pulled his fingers out, rubbing them on the bed sheet.

He grabbed one of Laurent’s legs, and lifted it up throwing it over his shoulder. Then Damen lined up and slowly began to push his way in. When he was halfway, he stopped and rubbed Laurent’s hips looking down at him.

Laurent nodded. “Yes. I’m fine. I’m not going to break.”

“I know you’re not, but I want to make sure it’s good for you.”

“It won’t be if you don’t get on with it.”

“Demanding. I should have known,” he said, and pushed the rest of the way until he was fully seated.

Damen gave Laurent a minute to get used to it, and when Laurent gave a slow rock of his hips, letting out a tiny moan, Damen took that as his okay. He began to move, using long, slow strokes.

Laurent used the leg around Damen’s shoulder to meet Damen’s thrust and fuck himself on his cock. He let Damen keep the slow pace for a bit, savoring the feeling of the other man moving so slowly inside of him. It was torture. Finally he had enough and Laurent gave a hard snap of his leg, moving him faster.

Damen took the hint, and began to pick up the pace. He tilted his hips, gyrating them, until Laurent arched his back letting out a scream. Damen smirked knowing he found that spot deep inside Laurent.

He continued to move his hips, brushing against his spot continuously, giving him short, quick strokes. Laurent reached down and gripped his cock, pumping it wildly as Damen massaged him.

“Can you come again for me Laurent?”

Laurent nodded. He was actually unsure, never having finished more than once at a time, but he would try. His body seemed to want too.

“Good. Then finish with me,” Damen ordered.

Then he pulled all the way out, and Laurent was about to yell at him, tell him to get back in, what did he think he was doing, when Damen slammed his entire length back in. Damen shuddered, and Laurent felt him releasing inside of him, filling him up.

Laurent clenched his ass squeezing Damen’s cock, making the older man cry out. He closed his eyes, throwing his head back, a few drops spilling from his orgasm, but most of it dry. It hurt, but felt so good at the same time.

Damen waited until Laurent stopped shaking, and he loosened around him before pulling out. He rolled over, and collapsed onto the bed next to Laurent.

“How was that?” he asked.

“Don’t ask stupid questions you already know the answer to.”

“So amazing?”

Laurent scoffed. “Adequate,” he said.

Damen chuckled, and Laurent climbed out of the bed. He went to the washroom and found a towel. He cleaned himself off in the washroom then came back out throwing the towel at Damen. 

“Clean up.” he said, crawling back into the bed and under the covers.

Damen cleaned himself up, and dropped the towel onto the floor. He rolled onto his side, and grabbed Laurent pulling him close.

Laurent let out a yelp. “What are you doing?”

“Holding you.”

“Figures you’d be clingy after sex.”

Damen kissed his temple. “What can I say I’m a romantic.”

Laurent had formed the perfect retort in his head, or so he thought, but he never got to voice it as he had already fallen asleep. 

When Laurent woke the next morning it was to a mouth around his cock. He looked down, his eyes meeting Damen’s. Damen’s eyes sparkled with mischief, and he smiled. Damen went to say something, but Laurent stopped him by grabbing his hair, and tugging on it for him to continue.

By the time he was spilling into Damen’s mouth he was awake and ready to start the day. They both washed up, and redressed before heading back to the fire and camp from the night before. They found men, and women in different states of array. Some were half dressed, some fully naked. Sleeping men had their arms around a woman or two, the women with their heads on the men’s chest, or tucked into the crook of their arms.

Some of the men were already rousing when Damen and Laurent got there, but none of them looked or sounded too happy. For the men who were still sleeping, Laurent walked around kicking them lightly to wake them up.

When he got to Lazar, Lazar was still asleep, but unlike the others he was snuggled between one of the Vaskian’s and one of Damen’s crew. Laurent wasn’t surprised. He kicked Lazar, and Lazar groaned looking up at Laurent.

“Morning Cap.”

“Wake your partner up. We’ll be leaving in ten.”

Lazar stretched and let out a groan.

“You have fun last night too captain? Saw that giant Akelion leaving with you.”

“That is none of your business.”

Laurent walked away from him as Lazar laughed loudly, his laughter rousing both of his companions from sleep. 

As soon as all of the men were gathered, Halvik helped Kashel cover the eyes of all the men and they were led back to the town. Nikandros was already waiting for them at the border of the town, with their men.

Damen and Laurent jumped down from their horses and walked over to him.

“Everything went fine last night?” Laurent asked. “No problem with any of our men?”

Nikandros looked at Laurent for a moment, wondering why Laurent was asking him instead of Damen, but when he looked over at his Captain he just nodded for Nikandros to give an answer.

“No problems. The men were just happy to be on land and have proper food and drink. Also, the Vaskian men already loaded crates of supplies on to our ships. They said it was ordered by Halvik when we docked yesterday.”

“Great.” Laurent said. “Let’s get the men back on board the ships. We can convene in my quarters to talk about the next plan of action.”

**Beyond the Northern Steppes**

By talking to others in the bar, Nikandros was able to find out that Laurent’s Uncle was seen near the Northern Forest. The water in that area tended to be rough, due to the amount of rocks and caves scattered to the north of it. Ships hardly ventured there because of the danger it posed. Laurent figured that his Uncle must be using one of more of the caves as a hide out. 

Luckily they were already docked at Vask, so the journey there would only take a day or two depending on the current and if the weather held.

Laurent spent the day steering the ship, so he did not have much time to talk or spend with Damen. Then when Halvik relieved him at night so that he could eat and get some sleep, he called Damen to dine with him in his quarters. 

Their food was simple. Fish caught at sea, and some soup they made from boiling water and the supplies they were given. That was another good thing about docking frequently, they got an actual meal. 

They ate silently, Laurent paying attention to his meal, until Damen decided to open his mouth.

“Should we talk about it?” he asked.

“Talk about what?” Laurent said.

“What happened last night?”

“Nothing happened. We both had an itch to scratch and we scratched it.”

Damen shook his head. “I told you Laurent, I liked you when we were younger and-”

“No,” Laurent said. “I am completely different than the kid you knew back then. You can’t project feelings you had in the past on me now. You just think you have feelings for me.”

“You can’t tell me how I’m feeling,” Damen said.

Laurent laughed. “Oh yeah? Then what do you like about me Damianos? Go on and tell me.”

“Well for one you’re beautiful.”

Laurent rolled his eyes. “Do you know how many men find me ‘beautiful’? That’s superficial and means nothing.”

“You didn’t let me finish. For one you’re beautiful, but you’re not just that. You’re smart, resourceful, you stick to your guns and don’t give up, you’re also very opinionated. You’re a challenge and I like that.”

He was silent for a moment, studying Damen. Laurent had never been around a lover long enough for them to get to know him, and if he was, once they got him into bed that was it. They considered him too much of a challenge to go after. Laurent didn’t know how to process everything Damen had just said.

“You’re such a sap,” he said, “it’s disgusting.”

Laurent pushed his plate away, and got up. He walked around to the side of the desk that Damen was sitting on, and hopped up on to the edge. Laurent leaned down, cupped Damen’s cheek and kissed him.

Eventually, Damen broke the kiss looking at him.

“Are we-”

“Right now, I’m horny,” Laurent said. “Nothing more. Now, are you going to fuck me or not?”

Damen nodded.

“Good.” Laurent said, and kissed him again.

The next day at sea was boring, when Laurent wasn’t steering the ship Damen was in his quarters pleasuring Laurent with his mouth or his cock. It had only been a couple of days since he started fooling around with Damen, but he had never had so much sex in his life. It wasn’t bad.

Finally, they came upon the Northern Steppes, and Laurent had to concentrate. He had many men on the lookout for any dangers in the water. Vannes stayed by his side helping him navigate, Damen on the deck helping the rest of his men. 

Luckily, the current of the water wasn’t too harsh and they were able to get in between the caves easily enough. When he figured they were decently out of harm’s way, Laurent handed the wheel over to Vannes and stood at the bow of the ship, trying to spot _ the Sunburst _ , and his Uncle’s other ships.

Laurent expected them to be easy to spot. With his Uncle being the only one to use this area, and other’s fearing to go here because of the dangerous waters and the threat of pirates, his Uncle wouldn’t have to exert energy trying to hide his ships. After all, the one thing Laurent knew about his Uncle was his laziness. If he didn’t have to do something, he didn’t. If he could have someone else do it instead of him, he would.

He was about to tell them to dock the ship anywhere they could, so that they could explore the inside of the caves, when he spotted something. Laurent squinted. Yes, that was a mast. He ran back to the stern from the bow.

“I spotted a ship.” Laurent said. “But only one, and it’s not _ the Sunburst _ . Someone must have tipped them off. It might be a trap so we must be careful.”

They decided the best way to dock their ships was to anchor them. There was no land mass to tie their ship too that wasn’t a huge risk. If the current picked up, anywhere they anchored would run the chance of slamming their ship against the cave walls. Once they were anchored Laurent looked at the caves. In the middle of the ocean was a large stone wall. In the wall was a row of five caves.

“The caves are most likely all passageways that lead to a big cavern” Laurent said. “Vannes, Lazar you’ll come with me in one boat. Damen you pick a couple of men to go with you in another. If we don’t meet up, explore the passageway you’re in, and we will reconvene before exploring the others.”

“Wouldn’t it be easier to explore all five at once?” Damen asked.

“If it’s a trap, and they’re waiting for us in each passageway more men will die. This way might take a bit longer, but I’d rather risk as few men as possible.”

hey gathered their men, and rowed towards the opening. “You take the left, I’ll take the right.” Laurent said pointing at the two entrances he was talking about. 

The passageways weren’t as long as he figured, and it ended up being just like he thought. All of them led to the same area. What was even more surprising was that no one was there

Laurent frowned. Then why was that ship left outside?

The room got shallower the farther they rowed, until eventually they were able to pull their rowboats up onto land. Laurent climbed out.

“Split up, and look for any clues. Clues on where they have gone, when they might be back, why they abandoned the cave and a ship.” 

Even though Laurent didn’t think Damen’s crew would disobey him, he still didn’t trust them fully.

“Lazar you’re with Pallas, Vannes with Nik, Damen with me.”

Damen shot Laurent a smile, and it took everything Laurent had to not smile back.

Lazar and Pallas went off to the left, Vannes and Nik to the middle, and Damen and Laurent to the right.

There were some tents left, pots, pans, and supplies. It looked like whomever stayed here recently was planning to come back, or that they had left in a rush. Why did they even need tents in a cave? Laurent noticed that one of the tents was swaying a bit, even though there was no wind in the cave at the moment. Frowning he walked behind it, and moved it a bit with his hand. There was another cave!

“Damen,” Laurent said. “Help me move the tent.”

Damen pushed helped Laurent push it out of the way.

“A cave!”

“Yes, I know what a cave looks like,” Laurent said. 

He looked across the room, and saw the other four still searching their areas.

“Let’s look and see what’s inside.”

Laurent was able to walk into the cave with only having to hunch over a bit. Damen on the other hand had to practically fold himself in half to do so. He was lucky that the cave opening didn’t get any narrower as they walked. Laurent didn’t want to have to push him if he got stuck.

When they stepped out of the passageway, they were in another smaller room. A treasure room.

There was cloth, pottery, jewelry, coin, spices, and more That wasn’t what attracted Laurent’s attention though. No what attracted his attention was the man sitting in the middle of the treasury, who stood when they entered the room.

“Jord,” Laurent said almost in disbelief.

Jord walked closer. “So you  _ are _ still alive,” he said, a smile on his face.

Laurent nodded. “Why are you here?”

He saw Jord look over at Damen, unsure if he should speak or not.

“Damen, this is Jord. He used to run with my brother’s crew. He was also my unofficial babysitter,” he said with a smile. “Jord, this is Damen. He’s part of the navy, but we’re at an understanding right now. You can speak in front of him.”

“Your Uncle heard a rumor that you were coming, and cleared out. I’m not...I stayed on his crew because I was loyal to Auguste and he was next in line to take over the ship, after you disappeared. He’s not a good captain though, and I don’t agree with how he runs things. If the rumors were true, and you were after him, I knew you would come here. So, when they packed up the ship, and took off, I snuck back here.”

“So you know where they’re heading then?”

“Yes. To Ios.”

“To Ios?!” Damen said. “Why would he head there? Pirates try to avoid Ios.”

“Yes,” Laurent said. “That’s why he chose it. Ios is dangerous for pirates, and the last place I would think a coward like him would go.” He looked at Jord. “Now that you’re without a crew, you would like to join mine?”

Jord shook his head. “I’ve been at this life for longer than I can remember. I’m getting older. I want to find someone to spend the rest of my life with, maybe a family. I can’t find that on the seas, and finding one will take some time. I think I’m ready to leave this life.”

“Alright. Well if you ever change your mind, know that you’re always welcome in my crew.”

“Thank you.”

“At least let us give you a ride to Ios.”

Jord laughed. “I’d appreciate that. I don’t think I could swim all the way back.”

“Probably not, but you never know until you try.”

**Ios**

They got what they needed from the cave, and rowed back to their ships. Laurent let Jord stay with him, wanting to catch up with him a bit more. Jord was surprised at how Damen always seemed to be at Laurent’s side, and how Laurent didn’t mind. When he was younger, Laurent was always a loner. He had a tendency to go off and play by himself. But perhaps it was only because he was the only child on the ship.

He also didn’t miss how close the two sat to each other, or how they leaned towards each other when they spoke. Jord was glad Laurent found someone, and seemed happy. Auguste would want that. But he couldn’t ignore the fact that Damen was navy. Sooner or later that would come back to haunt them.

This time their trip was longer, and their destination Isthima. Isthima was a small island off of the coast of Akelios, and no one actually lived there except for land caretakers. Isthima was an island for the rich. For those folks who wanted to get away during the summer to a cooler area. It was filled only with large summer mansions. They were still about a month away from the unbearable heat of high summer, so Ishima would be a ghost town until then. It gave them the perfect place to dock all three of their ships.

When they docked, Damen to no one’s surprise, said he had a house there. His father was the richest, most important man in Akelios. Of course they would have a summer home. Damen led Laurent and his troops to it. For Laurent’s plan to work, he would need as few men as possible. The rest would stay here at Damen’s house until Laurent and Damen came back for them.

It took some searching, but between everyone Laurent was able to find an outfit that fit Damen. If he wore his usual Navy attire he would be spotted and recognized right away. In pirate gear, no one would recognize him. It was pretty boring of an outfit by Laurent’s standards but Damen was a big man. He had on a pair of grey pants, his black naval boots, and a brown shirt to which he kept the ties at his neck open so it didn't suffocate him. Just to mess with him, Laurent gave him a hat, which he would never be able to wear on land, but was fun to see on him. Damen hated the outfit. Laurent thought it suited him.

When dusk started to fall,  _ The Auguste  _ took them a bit farther, but not too much. They stopped in the middle of the ocean, as they didn’t want to be seen from Ios. As soon as Laurent deemed them far enough, the two of them, along with Jord, climbed into a row boat, and were lowered into the water. By the time they pulled the boat on to the sands of a beach, night had already fallen. No one would be able to see the row boat until morning, and no one would know who it belonged to.

“Well,” Jord said when he climbed out of the boat, “this is where we part ways.”

Laurent nodded. “Good luck to you Jord.”

“You too Laurent. I hope once your need for revenge is over, you can have a normal life. Well, as normal as a pirate’s life can be.”

Jord than shook Damen’s hand, and was off.

“So, what’s the plan?” Damen asked, knowing Laurent had one.

“We find the nearest inn, drink and eat at their bar to gather some information, and in the morning find my Uncle.”

In actuality, they chose the third nearest inn that they could find. If Laurent’s Uncle expected them to eventually follow him here, he would probably expect them to dock as they had, and find the nearest inn. He, or someone else could be waiting for them there. So, Laurent one upped his Uncle and chose the third. In a bustling place like Ios, there was never any shortages of places to stay, fuck, or eat. 

They sat down at a table near the bar, and ordered the special of the night. A beef stew, like most taverns normally served. Damen got a drink, but Laurent stuck with water.

When they were finished eating, they went up to their room. It wasn’t as small as some inns that Laurent had been in, but put Damen in a room and anything looked small. Laurent wasn’t sure they were both going to be able to fit or lie on the bed without breaking it.

“So tomorrow,” Damen said, “tomorrow you will finally get revenge on your Uncle. Once that happens what are you going to do next?”

Laurent paused. “I haven’t thought that far,” Laurent said.

He hadn’t. His next goal after killing his Uncle would have been to kill Damen, to get back at his father for killing Auguste. But, after spending time with Damen, he was finding that he wanted to kill him less and less. He would have to think of a different way to get revenge on Damen’s father.

“It was something that always seemed so far away, and now that it’s here…” he trailed off.

“Well,” Damen said. “I know what I want to do after I finish helping you.”

“Oh? And what’s that?”

“I want to join your crew.”

“Join my crew?” Laurent asked quirking his eyebrow. “You do know we’re a bunch of pirates, or did you forget that? Why would you want to join my crew?”

“Because it’s where you are. I want to be anywhere you are Laurent. Go anywhere you go. I love you.”

Laurent paused staring at him. “You would make a terrible pirate.” he finally said. “Too honorable. Pirates are anything but.”

“I think I can learn. I have a good teacher after all.”

Laurent rolled his eyes. “Shut up,” he said, and walked over to Damen. 

He reached up, and gripped Damen’s curls in one hand tugging his head down so he could kiss him. 

The kiss was long, but not as aggressive as Laurent normally kissed him. It was slower, softer. Their tongues mingled together, playing with one another, teasing each other. Finally Laurent pulled away, panting a bit, his cheeks flushed. Looking up at Damen he slid his hand from behind his head, and down his chest. He dropped to the floor, fingers coming up to undo his pants.

“What are you doing?” Damen asked.

“Don’t ask questions you can see the answer to,” Laurent said. “It’s unattractive.”

He lowered Damen’s pants, eyeing him, the other man already hard.. “Do you ever wear anything underneath? Barbarian.” he said fondly.

“I know. I don’t have to do anything,” Laurent said. “But I want to.”

He rested his hands on Damen’s ass cheeks, and leaned in. He trailed his tongue from the base to the tip, then took the tip into his mouth suckling it. Damen rested a hand on the top of Laurent’s head. Laurent peered up, blue eyes meeting brown. Laurent’s eyes sparkled like the smirk his mouth wasn’t able to form at the moment.

Digging his nails into Damen’s ass, he began to bob his head up and down. Damen let out a groan. Laurent’s mouth was better than he imagined it. He closed his eyes savoring in the feel of his lips around him.

Then he let out a groan when Laurent began to use his tongue, and he knew that he wasn’t going to be able to last long. Laurent was really really good at this.

Laurent pursed his lips, squeezing his cock tighter with his mouth, and then hummed from the back of his throat, sending vibrations down Damen’s shaft. Damen almost came right there. He gripped Laurent’s hair, and tugged it so that Laurent released him.

Laurent licked his lips, and looked up at him. “What are you doing?” he asked annoyed. “Am I that bad?”

Damen chuckled. “No sweetheart. You were amazing. That’s the problem. I was ready to spill in your mouth.”

“And why didn’t you?”

“Because I’m not done with you yet.”

“Oh and you can’t come twice? Are you-”

Damen shut him up by kissing him again. 

“See?” Damen said with a smirk pulling away. “I’m already learning,” He gripped the bottom of his shirt, and pulled it off throwing it onto the floor. Then he reached for Laurent’s and sent his flying also.

“Such a brute,” Lauren chastised.

Damen smirked. “You like it. I know you like my muscles, I’ve seen you checking them out.”

Laurent blushed. “I have done no such thing.”

“If you say so,” Damen said undoing Laurent’s pants.

Laurent reached down, and smacked Damen’s hands away. Then he took a step back, and pulled down his pants, eyes locked on Damen’s the entire time. 

“Alright then. If you think you’re so strong, so good looking then put those muscles to the test.” Laurent said.

Before Damen could ask what Laurent meant, he was hopping up, legs on Damen’s hips as Damen’s hands came down to his ass to catch him and hold him up.

“I want you to fuck me like this.” Laurent said. “No wall, no support, no nothing. Just your muscles holding me up. Do you think you can do that? Or are you just telling tales now?”

Damen smirked. “I can fuck you like this for hours.”

“Prove it.”

“I don’t have any lube.”

Laurent sighed and jumped down. He went to his pants, and reached into the pocket pulling out a tiny vial.

“Where you just carrying that around with you?!” Damen asked shocked.

“We’ve been fucking every night, sometimes more then every night. Of course I’m going to bring it to an inn.”

He tossed the vial to Damen before jumping back up on him. Laurent held onto him with his hands, and legs while Damen uncapped it, and poured some into his hands. He stretched Laurent out until Laurent felt like he couldn’t take it anymore. Damen always spent way too much time on making sure he was ready. More than he should.

“Put it in me lover. Fuck me.”

Damen shivered at the nickname, desire flashing across his eyes.

“Your pleasure,” he said.

Laurent would have rolled his eyes at that, but he didn’t have a chance with Damen pushing into him. He let out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding, the breath turning into a groan.

As soon as Damen was all the way in him, Laurent began to pump his legs back, and forth riding his cock. Damen kept to his promise. He didn’t once use the wall to hold Laurent up, though the longer they went on he could tell Damen wanted to. 

Damen’s body glistening with sweat, Laurent’s hands on his shoulder’s slipping because of it. At one point, Laurent thought the only thing holding him up was Damen’s cock, and his hands on his ass.

Damen smiled at him, curls sticking to his forehead, and Laurent grinned back at him, breathing heavily. They both leaned in at the same time, and kissed. The kiss was hungry, desperate, and soon Damen’s hips were doing the same, and Laurent was spilling against his stomach. 

Damen let out a groan of relief. “Finally.” he said, and walked them both over to the bed. He laid Laurent down on it, still fucking into him. The bed shaking and creaking beneath the two of them, Damen gave a couple of more thrusts and then finished also.

His arms shaking as he held himself above Laurent, Damen leaned down to peck his lips. Then he pulled out and rolled onto his side. They both hardly fit onto the bed.

“That was….” Damen said.

“Yes, yes sadly it was,” Laurent said, hating that he had to feed Damen’s ego more. 

“Sleep?”

“Clean first, then sleep.”

Damen laughed. “Yes, your highness,” he said sarcastically, getting up to get them both a wet towel.

When they were cleaned up, he pulled Laurent into his arms and they both fell asleep quickly.

In the morning Laurent rose early like he always did, this time sweating. Damen was wrapped around him, arm thrown over him. He was like a furnace. Laurent pushed Damen. “Wake up,” he said. “We need to go find my Uncle.”

Damen groaned, and pulled Laurent closer. He rolled over half on top of the blonde, and leaned down kissing him.

Laurent sighed into the kiss, moving his lips lazily against Damen’s. When the other man tried to use his tongue to part Laurent’s lips, Laurent turned his face away, trying to hide the grin on his face.

“Get up you oaf.”

“Get up you handsome oaf you mean.”

Laurent rolled his eyes.

Damen stood, putting his shirt and pants back on. “You bathe and take your time. I’ll go downstairs and find us some food. We can’t go out on a hunt with empty stomachs,” he said. 

Who knew if his Uncle had anything planned, or how many men were with him. They might end up having to fight, and they would need all of their strength for that.

Laurent nodded. “I won’t be too long,” he said, wanting to get out and search as soon as possible.

Damen went downstairs, and talked to the owner about getting some breakfast sent to the room. While he was waiting, sipping on a glass of water, someone sat down next to him. The room was empty, so who ever had sat next to him chose this seat on purpose. 

Damen turned to look at him, and was surprised to see a kid. He had curly brown, blue eyes, and a long earring dangling from his ear.He was way too young to be in here, but the owner was in the back at the moment preparing their breakfast.

“Can I help you?” Damen asked.

The boy looked at him, his blue eyes studying Damen, sizing him up.

“Give me a coin, and I’ll tell you where he is.”

“Where who is?” Damen asked.

The boy held out his hand expectantly. Damen sighed, and pulled a pouch out of his pocket. He pulled out a coin, and placed it in the hand.

“The captain of  _ the Sunburst _ .”

“Where is he?”

The boy raised an eyebrow. “I already answered a question. You want me to ask another, give me a coin.”

Damen huffed, and placed another in his hands.

“He’s staying at the Ikaros.”

Damen knew the inn well. It was more towards the city’s center. Nicer and more expensive. 

“And how do I know this information is good?” he asked.

The boy shrugged. “You don’t, but it’s better than running around the town all day.”

“You could be sending us into a trap.”

“Yes, I could be,” The boy said with another shrug, then hopped down from the stool and left. 

Laurent came down and Damen told Laurent what happened. 

“A boy?” Laurent repeated, eating.

“Yes.” 

“And you believed him?”

Damen shrugged in turn. “How else would he know who we were, and who we were looking for unless he was with your Uncle.”

Laurent nodded. “That’s true. After we finish eating, we head right there.”

They ate their breakfast, and paid for it before heading out. 

Damen knew the way to the inn having lived there all of his life. Instead of taking Laurent along the main streets, he decided to take them down the side streets and alleys. If Laurent’s Uncle had anyone on the lookout, he probably had them on the main areas. After all, he didn’t know Ios like Damen did.

They zigzagged through a few alleyways, Damen choosing to skip a couple that were more busy than the others. As they turned the corner to go down the last alley, they saw Laurent’s Uncle, Damen’s father, Kastor, and two other men already there. They stopped short.

“Laurent,” His Uncle said.

Laurent’s Uncle was an older man, his hair starting to grey, but Damen could see the resemblance between the two.

“Uncle,” Laurent returned.

His Uncle then turned towards Damen. “And you must be Damianos, Theomede’s son. Thank you for bringing my nephew to me.”

Laurent paused. Bringing him to him? He tensed.

“Did you set me up?” he asked.

Damen turned, and looked at him shocked. “What?”

The boy in the inn, he hadn’t seen him. While Laurent was up in the room taking a bath and changing Damen easily could have met with his Uncle. It was also suspicious that his Uncle just so happened to be on Ios where Damen lived, and the navy was. Finally, Damen’s father, and men were here also. There were too many factors for it to be a total coincidence.

“You’re a better actor than I thought.” Laurent said. 

“Laurent, I would never. I swear I didn’t know-”

“You told me you loved me.”

“I do, I-”

“Come on then.” Laurent said pulling out his sword. “Fight me.”

“I’m not going to fight you Laurent. I would never hurt you.”

But when Laurent swung at him, on instinct Damen pulled his sword out of the scabbard and blocked it.

“Fight me.” Laurent said again, bringing his sword down for another hit.

Kastor and his father didn’t do anything. After all, Damen was the best fighter in Ios, and he was twice the size of Laurent. The smaller man would be overpowered in no time. 

Damen spent a few minutes parrying Laurent’s thrusts and jabs not wanting to hurt him. When Laurent’s swings started to become stronger, Damen had to use more power also. 

Laurent managed to back Damen up, so that the other was against the wall. Laurent smirked. This was it. He had him. Laurent swung his sword up high, and brought it down nice and quick. It clashed against Damen’s sword, but Damen was stronger. The force of it hurt Laurent’s arm, and sent his sword flying out of his hand.

Laurent’s eyes widened shocked, and he stumbled back falling onto the ground. 

Damen took a step closer sword to his side, then he bent down and offered his hand.

Laurent looked at it, and then took his hand. As Damen was pulling him up, Laurent grabbed the hilt of his sword and shoved it into Damen’s side.

Damen stumbled back surprised, his hand never letting go of Laurent’s even as he fell to the floor, the sword pulled out of him as he fell.

“You always did fall for the same trick,” Laurent said, his voice shaking. He had done it on instinct, on muscle memory. 

Damen coughed, looking up, their positions reversed. Him on the floor, Laurent above him holding his hand. 

“I love you Laurent,” he whispered. 

A cry, and then, “Get them, both of them,” Laurent heard, but it all sounded so far away, the sword falling from his grasp. He couldn’t stop looking, couldn’t stop watching Damen bleed out, his breathing becoming shallower and shallower.

Both of his hands were pulled behind his back, and he looked up the same thing happening to his Uncle. 

Laurent didn’t remember the journey to the Palace. Everything was so foggy. He couldn’t see anything clearly. He was lead down stairs and thrown into a jail cell, his Uncle in a cell across from him.

Later, when things became clearer, Laurent realized what he had done. He had killed the man he loved. He deserved to rot in this cold, dank prison. If anything that would be a better punishment than hanging him. Leaving him here to rot, all alone with nothing to do, but think about what he’d done.

Laurent looked up when he heard footsteps. A young boy was walking down the path between all of the cells. Though Laurent didn’t know it, it was the same boy that had talked to Damen in the inn that morning.The boy stopped in front of the cell where his Uncle was being held. 

“I got it.” The boy said and pulled a key out of his pocket. “Had to give a guard who looked like he hadn’t showered in weeks a blow job,” the boy wrinkled his nose at that, “but I got it.”

“Thank you Nicaise,” his Uncle said. “I’ll be sure to make it up to you.”

Laurent listened to their conversation in disgust, watching as the boy unlocked the cell door.

Laurent’s Uncle stepped out. He walked over to Laurent’s cell and peered inside, his hands wrapping around the bars.

“Damen, he never betrayed you,” he said.

Laurent knew that. Deep down he knew that, even before the fight. He just didn’t want to admit it. Didn’t want to be in love with someone he had always planned to kill.

“Jord, I knew he never liked me. He stuck with me out of loyalty to your brother his crew, and his ship. He didn’t like how I ran my ship, my crew, or the company I kept aboard it.” he said glancing at Nicaise. “When I heard you were after me, I knew I could use him. When we boarded the ship from the caves, I knew right away Jord wasn’t going to follow. That he’d stay behind to warn you. I pretended I didn’t know. Let all of the crew know where we were heading to next, so that he could rely the information to you. And he did just as I planned.”

“I’m glad your plan worked out for you Uncle.” Laurent said sarcastically.

“Oh, that’s not the best part.” he said.

Laurent rolled his eyes. His Uncle always did like to listen to himself talk.

“Theomedes, we go way back. We had a deal him and I. I help turn in the pirate that was making trouble for all of the traders, and I get his ship. As long as I didn’t bother Ios, didn’t make trouble for the merchants, he’d leave me alone. That deal couldn’t be beaten, so I took it. As everyone was getting the ship ready to leave that night, so they didn’t have to do it in the morning hungover, I met with him, and told him where Auguste would be.”

Laurent couldn’t find it in himself to get angry. He had suspected Auguste had been caught because of his Uncle, but now, now he heard it from the man himself. His suspicions confirmed. Instead of going at him, or yelling, Laurent spat at his foot.

“I knew we could help each other again. I’d turn you in and be done with you also, but this time there was nothing for Theomedes to give me. I knew he’d try and betray me, so I came up with a backup plan, Nicaise here. It all worked out well in the end. And now, now you will hang just like your brother,” he said with a smirk. “And the ocean will be mine. It was good to see you again nephew.” he said. “I doubt we’ll be meeting again anytime soon.”

Laurent didn’t say anything. Usually he’d have a retort, something to say, but his mind, his mind couldn’t conjure up anything except for the image of Damen on the floor, bleeding out because of him. 

He watched his Uncle walk away.

Laurent didn’t sleep that night, and in the morning before the sun was fully up he was grabbed from his cell by his arm. The guard threw him, Laurent almost falling to the floor. He managed to catch himself as he stumbled. The guard pushed him again.

“I’m going.” he said. “Don’t touch me again.”

He was marched to the middle of the makeshift stage by the executioner, his head held high, posture straight. He didn’t want to show any fear or weakness. He was not afraid of death.

He heard Damen’s father giving a speech, but Laurent didn’t listen to it. He could see the grief in the other man’s eyes. Damen hadn’t made it. Damen was dead.

Laurent calmly let the man wrangle him into the rope, and steadily held the crowd’s gaze as it tightened around his neck. 

“Damen,” Laurent whispered as the box was kicked out from underneath his feet. He would see him soon if the Gods were good. His body dropped, and it spasmed for a minute as he struggled, his eyes bulging, face purpling, then stopped.

  
  


In the crowd, a woman removed a pirate hat from her head, and placed it over her heart. She had an inherited ship, and crew to get back to.

In the crowd, a woman mourned for the boy she rescued and raised all those years ago. She failed him by letting him go with that pirate, and today his story ended because of her.

In the crowd, an older man smirked, and placed his hand on the back of a blue eyed boy. He had won. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading, and again check out Dad's original Pirate comic at chohwcomic.tumblr.com, and @chohwcomic on twitter!
> 
> I am also writing for another reverse bang piece, and promise it will be happy, so keep an eye out for that soon!


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